The invention relates to the field of broadcast television and more specifically to the field of hyperlinking in a television broadcast.
Broadcasts of information via television signals are well known in the prior art. Television broadcasts are unidirectional, and do not afford a viewer an opportunity to interact with the material that appears on a television display. Viewer response to material displayed using a remote control is known but is generally limited to selecting a program for viewing from a listing of available broadcasts. In particular, it has proven difficult to create hyperlinked television programs in which information is associated with one or more regions of a screen. The present invention addresses this need.
The invention provides methods and systems for augmenting television broadcast material with information that is presented to a viewer in an interactive manner.
In one aspect, the invention features a hyperlinked broadcast system. The hyperlinked broadcast system includes a video source and a data packet stream generator that produces a transport stream in communication with the video source. The system includes an annotation source, a data packet stream generator that produces encoded annotation data packets in communication with the annotation source and the generator, and a multiplexer system in communication with the encoder and a data packet stream generator. The multiplexer generates a digital broadcast signal that includes an augmented transport stream from the transport stream from the video source and the encoded data packets. The encoder provides timing information to the data packet stream generator and the data packet stream generator synchronizes annotation data from the annotation source with a video signal from the video source in response to the timing information.
In one embodiment, the annotation information includes mask data and at least one of textual data and graphics data. In one embodiment, the mask data includes location and shape information of an object in an annotated video frame.
In another aspect, the invention features a hyperlinked broadcast and reception system. The hyperlinked broadcast and reception system includes a video source, an encoder that produces a transport stream in communication with the video source, an annotation source, and a data packet stream generator that produces encoded annotation data packets in communication with the annotation source and the generator. The system also includes a multiplexer system in communication with the encoder and the data packet stream generator. The multiplexer generates a digital broadcast signal comprising an augmented transport stream from the transport stream and the encoded data packets. The system additionally includes a broadcast channel in communication with the multiplexer system, a receiver in communication with the broadcast channel, and a display device in communication with the receiver. The encoder provides timing information to the data packet stream generator and the data packet stream generator synchronizes annotation data from the annotation source with a video signal from the video source in response to the timing information. The receiver displays the annotation information associated with the video signal in response to a viewer request on a frame by frame basis.
In still another aspect, the invention features a hyperlinked reception system that includes a receiver in communication with a broadcast channel, and a display device in communication with the receiver, wherein said receiver displays said annotation information associated with a video signal, in response to a user request, on a frame by frame basis, said annotation information being associated with said video signal in response to timing information.
The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description and from the claims.